Deep in the forest, Yu Tiancheng quietly withdrew.
"That was close..." Yu Tiancheng thought to himself, quickly and silently moving away from the area where Shrek and Meng Yiran had been facing off.
He had no intention of staying to witness the ensuing battle between Tang San and the Man Faced Demon Spider—that was a "highlight moment" belonging to the "protagonist," and had nothing to do with him.
He decided to continue exploring deeper into the forest.
Since the limit for his Second Soul Ring had increased by a full five hundred years, his target naturally had to rise accordingly. He needed to find a stronger Spirit Beast that suited him better.
As he went deeper, the trees around him grew taller and denser, and the light grew dimmer. The presence of Spirit Beasts in the air grew stronger.
Yu Tiancheng raised his guard to the utmost.
He relied not only on his sight and hearing, but also pushed his newly acquired spatial perception to its limits.
The soft layer of humus beneath his feet might conceal traps set by poisonous insects or carnivorous plants. Behind seemingly tranquil shadows and vines, perfectly camouflaged predators might be lying in wait. Every unusual disturbance in the air could herald approaching danger.
His mind was intensely focused, as if he were dancing on the edge of a blade.
Suddenly, far ahead, an incredibly powerful, domineering wave of Soul Power, brimming with an aura of destruction, crashed out like a boulder thrown into a tranquil lake!
It was accompanied by the clear shouts of human Spirit Masters and the thunderous bursts of Soul Skills.
The force of the fluctuation far surpassed that of any Spirit Beast Yu Tiancheng had sensed before. It even made his heart skip with dread.
"At least a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast—and certainly no ordinary one!"
He judged in an instant. At the same time, he keenly picked out the distinctive rhythm of human Soul Power amid the fluctuations. "Someone's hunting it? Anyone who can take on a Spirit Beast of this level..."
Curiosity and caution warred fiercely within him.
In the end, curiosity about how the strong fought, along with his desire for information about the depths of the forest, pushed him to make a decision.
He brought the Stealth Cloak's effect to its maximum. His whole body seemed to become a formless gray shadow as he used the thick tree trunks for cover, stealthily making his way toward the source of the fluctuations with the utmost caution and at the slowest pace.
After creeping nearly a thousand meters and circling around a swamp filled with poisonous miasma, he finally glimpsed, through layer upon layer of trees, a devastated clearing in the forest, swept bare by the aftershocks of battle.
At its center, a colossal beast was fighting like a trapped animal.
It resembled a giant lion, but its entire body was covered in pitch-black scales with a metallic sheen. A pair of tattered, bony wings sprouted from its back, and a spiraling horn atop its head shimmered with an unstable, dark-red light.
Every roar shook the ancient trees around it, while each swipe of its claws or sweep of its tail split the ground and sent rocks flying. Its might was overwhelming.
But now, its body was covered in crisscrossing wounds, and dark-red blood poured from them. Though its aura remained savage, weakness and despair were unmistakable.
Five people were attacking it.
Three were young, two men and one woman, no older than seventeen or eighteen, yet they displayed astonishing teamwork and combat prowess.
They advanced and retreated in perfect order, their Soul Skills flowing seamlessly as they continued to inflict new wounds on the giant beast.
The most striking was the cold-faced young man wielding two Moon Blades. His attacks were incredibly fierce, and he repeatedly struck deadly blows just as the beast's strength was spent and before it could gather its next burst of power.
Even more startling to Yu Tiancheng were the two people standing at the edge of the battlefield, overseeing the fight.
One wore ornate golden armor, his face completely hidden beneath a golden helmet save for a pair of narrow, uncanny eyes. He toyed with a strange golden chrysanthemum in his hand, seemingly relaxed, yet an elusive, razor-sharp aura radiated from him, making the soul tremble. It was as if he could slice through space.
The other was entirely concealed beneath a wide black robe. His figure seemed to drift like a ghost. Though he stood right there, he gave the impression that he might vanish into the shadows at any moment. A cold, lifeless aura spread from him.
"Titled Douluo!" Yu Tiancheng's heart nearly missed a beat. A chill shot up his spine and straight to the top of his head.
He had felt pressure of this magnitude only from the most powerful Elders in his clan.
Looking again at the three young people working in perfect harmony—their martial spirits, fighting styles, and distinctive attire... The answer was clear.
"Hu Liena, Xie Yue, Yan... the Spirit Hall Golden Generation."
Yu Tiancheng held his breath, slowing even his thoughts. "Then those two must be Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei."
He had never imagined that he would stumble into a Soul Hunting operation by the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, with two Titled Douluo personally standing guard!
That lineup was excessive even for hunting an ordinary Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast.
He immediately curled up deep in a particularly dense patch of bushes downwind. The patterns on his Stealth Cloak glimmered faintly, suppressing his presence, body heat, and even Soul Power fluctuations until they were almost nonexistent.
He shifted his breathing to an internal rhythm and forcibly slowed his heartbeat to its lowest pace. He seemed to have become a lifeless stone.
The battle was nearing its end.
"Roar—!" The black giant beast let out one final, unwilling roar. Xie Yue seized the opening as it raised its head to bellow, darted forward like lightning, and crossed his two Moon Blades in a bleak arc of light.
Pfft!
Its enormous head shot into the air, and its heavy body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A deep black Spirit Ring slowly emerged from the corpse, radiating an unsettling wave of energy.
"We did it!" Yan excitedly pumped his fist. A few scrapes marked his body, but his expression was elated.
A relieved smile also appeared on Xie Yue's face. Without a word, he sat cross-legged before the Spirit Ring, regulated his breathing, and prepared to absorb this hard-won fifth Spirit Ring, a ten-thousand-year one.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei did not let down their guard. Their eyes swept over the surrounding forest like precision radar, while their immense Spiritual Power silently spread across an area several hundred meters wide. No movement could escape their senses.
Yu Tiancheng's heart was in his throat.
He could feel two icy, powerful waves of Spiritual Power, heavy with pressure, sweeping over his hiding place again and again like tangible searchlights.
The Stealth Cloak was operating at full power, perfectly blending him into the surrounding environment. His presence, Soul Power, and life signs all matched those of the bushes beside him.
Time dragged by in unbearable tension.
Xie Yue's absorption seemed to be going smoothly, the energy of the black Spirit Ring steadily merging into his body.
Just as Yu Tiancheng estimated that Xie Yue had absorbed more than half of it and began to consider quietly retreating while their attention was most focused—
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's uncanny eyes suddenly turned straight toward the spot where Yu Tiancheng was hiding!
A clear trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Before you continue